Spartans Welcome Oakland in Thursday Night Test

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's soccer returns to the banks of the Red Cedar for the first half of a weekend homestand on Thursday, Sept. 8, as the Spartans welcome the Oakland Golden Grizzles to DeMartin Stadium for a 7 p.m. kick on Old College Field.

HEAD COACH JEFF HOSLER SAID…
"Oakland is a team that moves the ball really well," Hosler said. "A lot of their sequences end at Alexa Sabbagh's feet, and that often results in a lot of solid goal-scoring moments. We have to be aware of them in and around the box. If we do our job defensively, we should be able to hold territory a little better. They have had some incredible results, including a draw against Northwestern on their home field. We know what they are as a team, and we have to be a lot better in the attack to find a result on Thursday."

KICKIN' IT
MSU is 4-1-1 on the young season and continues its grueling non-conference schedule against the preseason favorites from the Horizon League in Oakland. The Spartans return to action following a hard-fought 1-0 defeat at the hands of SEC leader Arkansas last week on the road. The Razorbacks posted the only score of the game on a set piece opportunity spurred by a Spartan foul outside the penalty area in the 77th minute. The Green & White have only allowed one goal in the run of play all season and maintain a 15-2 edge in goals scored over their opponents in 2022.

GRAPPLING WITH THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Sixth-year head coach Juan Pablo Favero guides Oakland into its seventh game of the 2022 slate boasting a 3-1-2 overall record, with the team's only defeat coming at the hands of Wake Forest by a 1-0 margin on Sept. 4. The Golden Grizzles faced off against Big Ten challenger Northwestern at home on Aug. 28, playing the Wildcats to a scoreless draw in Rochester. Senior forward Alexa Sabbagh leads Oakland in both goals and total points this season, notching a pair of scores against Akron and Toledo, with an assist against Kent State. Tending goal for the Golden Grizzles is senior goalkeeper Noemi Stadelmann, who leads the team with 22 saves on the year highlighted by a pair of six-save efforts.

STORY OF THE SERIES: OAKLAND
Michigan State and Oakland square off for the 21st time in program history on Thursday, as the Spartans own a 15-2-3 overall record in the all-time series. In contests played at DeMartin Stadium, the Green & White maintain an undefeated 8-0-1 record. The most recent meeting between the two squads in East Lansing came on Sept. 6, 2018, in which MSU logged a 2-0 decision. Both squads met on the Oakland Soccer Field a year ago, when the Spartans came away with a 2-0 win on the road. The Green & White saw goals come from Sydney Kloosterman and Samantha White, with White earning the game-winner in the fourth minute.

DEMARTIN GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Click the link here to be redirected to the ticket purchasing page for Thursday evening's contest against Oakland. General admission tickets are available now online and at the gate beginning one hour before kick. Tickets for individual adults are available for $5, while individual youth and senior tickets are available for $3. All Michigan State students will be granted free admission to the game with a valid MSU ID. Children under the age of 8 will be admitted for free. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 1-800-GO-STATE. Gates will open one hour before the start of the game.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday evening's matchup will be streamed live to a worldwide audience via B1G+, with Brendan Schabath, Michael Markoch and Veronica Bolanos calling the action. Authenticated subscribers can access the live simulcast of each game via the B1G+ app on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and other connected devices. Live stats via StatBroadcast are available here.

FOLLOW THE SPARTANS
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State women's soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women's soccer team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WSoccer.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sydney Kloosterman

Samantha White